Lagos ports can now take big vessels

There is good news for those in the shipping business. The Lagos ports can now accommodate big vessel carrying between 4,500 and 5,000 containers following its dredging to widen its depth.

Before the exercise, the port could only take small vessels carrying between 1,000 and 2,000 containers because of its shallow waters.

With its depth widened to between 13 and 13.5 metres from its former seven and nine metres, following the dredging it can take big vessels, thereby enhancing its status.

The Lagos Channels Management (LCM) said the exercise became necessary to ensure that the ports served their purpose and maximised their potentials.

Besides, the company has removed 29 of 31 shipwrecks identified along the channel on which it is operating.

LCM Limited is a venture with the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), which owns 60 per cent of the equity.

The company is responsible for the dredging and removal of certain shipwrecks along the Fairway Buoys. It also operates a marine operation centre (MOC) where data is processed for port operation.

Its Head of Human Resources, Mr Falade Oyekan, said: “Until November 2012, we have removed 27 shipwrecks and currently working on two other wrecks that we identified as those that pose risk to the channel. The statutory duty to remove wrecks is with the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) but based on the agreement between NPA and the agency, we are meant to remove wrecks on our contracted channels as recommended by the NPA.”

According to him, the Fairway Buoy covers the region beginning from entry point from the Atlantic ocean into the Lagos ports, Tin Can Port and Badagry.

“When we took over in 2005, the highest depth along the buoy was between seven and nine metres, but now what we have is a minimum of 13.5 metres. In some areas, the channel is deeper than that, except around the Key Wall, which is very a sensitive area to dredge. We are very careful when dredging around the Key Wall because if you exceed the limit, the wall can collapse. This makes it less than 13 metres, for instance around APMT Terminal.

“At the Tin Can Port, we have berths that are nine and 14 metres. From the construction, we know the depth and its limitations so we dredge to 13 or 13.5,” Oyekan explained.

On the company’s capacity to discharge its responsibility, he said LCM has 14 dredgers and vessels used to remove wrecks including special dredgers that can do the Key Walls.

On controversies surrounding the award of the Calabar Port dredging contracts to his company by NPA last year, Oyekan said the contract was advertised and LCM bided for it and won the contract.

“We have an independent body for the contracts. We bid like others but the advantage we have is that we have been in the system and so, people can see what we are doing. We bided for a lot of contracts which we didn’t win. Even the Calabar dredging contract that is having problems now, we won at initial stage, but NPA was criticised for awarding the contract to a company in which it had interest and contract was given to another company. Today, we all know what happened next,” Oyekan said.